Chapter 476: This is Your Retirement Fund, Uncle

TL: FoodieMonster007

Yeom Je slumped down next to the grand master, squeezing his eyes shut.

He prayed that when he opened them, he would be in his own bed. He hoped all of this was just a nightmare from the previous night.

However, when he opened his eyes, the nightmare was standing right in front of him.

Geom Mugeuk's gaze was calm as he looked down at him. But that calm, polite demeanor was what made him even more terrifying. He had killed all of Yeom Je's subordinates with those clear eyes. He had killed them all while speaking politely.

It was now his turn to fight. However, he couldn't muster the will to do so.

So, a day like this has finally come.

Yeom Je raised his voice in resentment.

"What grudge do you have against me? Are you doing this just because I stiffed you on some money?"

He hadn't killed them just for being cheated out of some money.

The evil deeds they had committed were so great that he had decided to kill them all from the moment he arrived.

If he let them live and their original fate unfolded, too many of the Murim Alliance martial artists would die in the process of subjugating them.

Kill those who must die, and save those who must not. The creed of his regression was being applied here at the Hundred Immortals Sect as well.

"You can't take money with you when you die, so why were you so greedy?"

Yeom Je looked down at the pool of blood and gritted his teeth. That was something only losers would say. Something only those who couldn't make money would say. What in the world had more value than money?

In the end, he spewed curses.

"You damn bastard! It's my money! It's all my money! What business is it of yours whether I throw it around in the marketplace or fill my coffin with it!"

Geom Mugeuk saw the madness in his eyes. How could a man who had lived his entire life this way feel remorse after just a few words?

He was suddenly reminded of what the owner of the Milky Way Trading Company had said.

[I've seen too many people get so caught up in the fun of making money that they end up being devoured by it.]

The one who had reached that extreme was none other than this Yeom Je. And he shouldn't be acting so brazen right now.

"It's not your money, is it?"

Struck to the core, Yeom Je gritted his teeth. This was his only rebuttal.

"Who do you think you are?"

The answer came immediately.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm the one who came to collect the money."

This was probably why he kept asking. He was a man who had no concept of repaying borrowed money.

"Open your personal safe."

If not for this purpose, he wasn't worth a single word of conversation.

"I told you, I don't have one."

Even after all ninety-nine of his subordinates had died, he refused to open his personal safe. He was the kind of man who valued money more than his own life.

How do you think I earned this money?

It was money earned by doing all sorts of things. Beating people, kidnapping them, selling them off, and killing them. It was money earned by doing everything imaginable to eat well and live well in this life, even if he was destined for hell.

He had resolved to die before ever giving it up.

"I know your safe is here, in this main hall."

Yeom Je tried to act calm, but who could he fool? The sound of his heart beating was as loud as thunder to Geom Mugeuk.

"Didn't you say it when you opened that safe? That the Hundred Immortals Sect's vault is here, where you spend most of your time. Then your personal safe must be here too."

Geom Mugeuk pressed on, giving him no time to think.

"I'll find the money myself."

Geom Mugeuk drew his sword, about to cut him down in a single, unhesitating strike.

"I'll open it! Spare me!"

Geom Mugeuk's sword stopped mid-air.

Even so, Geom Mugeuk didn't miss it. Yeom Je spoke as if he had given up, but a venomous glint that knew no surrender flashed in his eyes.

"You're right. The safe is here."

Yeom Je got up and walked to the back. He entered the empty vault he had opened earlier and felt the ceiling inside. It was a plain wall with no visible mechanism, but a hidden device was there.

JIIIIING.

One of the vault's inner walls opened, revealing an abacus.

This vault was a decoy to hide the real one. A double vault. The money and gold bars in the first vault were a security mechanism, the first line of defense protecting the real safe. Anyone mesmerized by the money and gold here would never think another vault lay behind it.

Yeom Je flicked the beads of the abacus. It was an elaborate mechanism that would only open if the correct numbers were entered.

"I can't get a single number wrong."

For some reason, he let Geom Mugeuk watch as he entered the numbers on the abacus.

Three, two, four.

Then, before flicking the last bead, Yeom Je spoke abruptly with his back still turned.

"I know you won't spare me even if I open this."

Yeom Je turned to Geom Mugeuk, a meaningful smile in his eyes. He flicked the last abacus bead upwards.

The number was four.

At that very moment.

CHIIIIIIK.

Smoke sprayed down from the ceiling where the two men stood. He had intentionally entered the wrong number, triggering a trap for intruders that released poisonous smoke.

Yeom Je laughed from within the poisonous smoke.

"The last number was three, not four."

He spoke with an exceptionally venomous look in his eyes.

"It's the most painful poison in the world. You'll experience the agony of all your organs melting. Anyone who covets my money deserves to die in hellish pain!"

He burst into laughter, which soon turned into a scream of agony. A truly horrific pain washed over him, but it was fine. He was going to die anyway, and he could take the bastard with him.

Let's die together, you bastard!

Writhing in pain, he looked at Geom Mugeuk. The last sight he would see in this world would be Geom Mugeuk writhing in agony.

However, the sight he expected was not there.

What?

Geom Mugeuk was still standing in the same spot, silently watching him.

Why?

He had definitely been doused in the poisonous smoke along with him. It seemed as if Geom Mugeuk was looking at him with a mix of ridicule and pity.

Just before his last breath, Geom Mugeuk's voice reached his ears.

He was confused. Truly, even amidst the excruciating pain of his body melting, he was curious. Why wasn't he dying?

"The last number was three, you say?"

Hearing those words, Yeom Je let out a scream.

No!

He had shown him the numbers because he thought they would die together. But if this happened?

It's my money! That's my money!

He died, tormented more by the fact that his money was being taken than by the pain of his organs melting. Until the moment he died, he died a slave to money.

Geom Mugeuk turned his back on the fallen corpse and entered the correct numbers on the abacus.

Then, the hidden vault opened.

Inside the vault, only stacks of bills were piled up. The bills were all high-denomination notes issued by the three major banks of the Central Plains. They had been prepared so he could grab them and leave at a moment's notice.

Geom Mugeuk took them all and left the place.

He didn't spare Yeom Je's corpse a single glance. As always, he attached no meaning to the deaths of evil men.

SPLASH SPLASH.

In his life, he let them flow away like the blood beneath his feet.

Geum Arin paced back and forth in the courtyard, anxious. She felt too suffocated waiting in her room to just sit still.

"Should I go check on him now?"

Lim Hyuk, who stood a short distance away, answered her firmly.

"You cannot."

Protecting Geum Arin was his mission, so it was a request he could never accept.

"He might die."

"Even so, you cannot."

Lim Hyuk added after a brief pause.

"Young Master Geom will be fine."

Yes, she thought so too. If it weren't for one thing.

"But his opponent is the Hundred Immortals Sect, isn't it?"

The answer that came to Lim Hyuk's mind.

Yes, even if his opponent is the Hundred Immortals Sect.

He didn't say it, likely to protect Geum Arin's feelings. In case she got her hopes up only to…

Just then, the metallic scent of blood wafted in on the wind.

Lim Hyuk leaped forward, positioning himself in front of Geum Arin.

Just as the smell of blood seemed to be getting stronger, the gate opened, and a person entered the inner courtyard.

"You?"

Geum Arin was speechless for a moment.

The person who entered was Geom Mugeuk. His clothes and body were completely soaked in blood.

"Are you hurt?"

At her startled question, Geom Mugeuk staggered over, clutched his chest, and sat down on a rock.

"I have a final request. If I die, please tell my father. Tell him his son went to a place of death to collect money at a woman's request and…"

"That's not funny, so please stop."

"Was it that obvious?"

Of course, his acting was so exaggerated that she could tell right away.

However, even if his acting had been truly realistic, she felt she wouldn't have been fooled. This man didn't seem like the type to leave any last words when he died. He seemed like the type who would lean against a small rock, gaze at a windswept plain with those clear eyes, and die quietly.

She had never thought of it before, but seeing him pretend to die made her think that.

She belatedly let out a sigh of relief.

"You've returned safely."

"Were you worried?"

Geum Arin didn't answer, but he could feel how much she had worried while waiting.

"Here, take this."

Geom Mugeuk pulled out a handful of envelopes from the leather pouch he was wearing.

"What's this?"

"It's the money that needed to be recovered from the Hundred Immortals Sect. Go and return it."

The names of the Trading Company and sects were written on the envelopes. Among them was an envelope with the name of the Golden Dragon Clan. When she checked inside, she found a bill for one and a half million taels.

Geum Arin's eyes widened.

"You really collected all the money?"

"This is the amount after I took my half, as promised."

She had just been hoping for Geom Mugeuk to return safely.

She had prayed so earnestly, Just come back safely. You don't have to get the money, just come back safely. And he had brought back all the money too?

"What happened to the Hundred Immortals Sect?"

A shocking answer came to her trembling question.

"The Hundred Immortals Sect no longer exists in this world."

Aghast, Geum Arin couldn't say a word. Lim Hyuk, standing behind her, also stared with wide, startled eyes.

Of course, that must have been what happened for him to get the money. Still, hearing the words directly made her heart pound.

He annihilated the Hundred Immortals Sect by himself? Is that really possible?

Then, Geom Mugeuk held out another envelope.

"This is money I'm giving you from my share."

Looking at the amount, it was an unexpectedly large sum.

"I don't need it."

"I'm not giving it to you for your own use."

"Then?"

"There must be Trading Company or residents living difficult lives because of the Hundred Immortals Sect's tyranny."

Of course, there were plenty of such people.

"You should help them with this money."

Geum Arin was startled. She stared at Geom Mugeuk for a moment before asking cautiously.

"Why are you asking me to do it? You could do it yourself, couldn't you?"

Then you could take all the credit for the good deed.

"Didn't you ask me to make you the successor? I'm keeping that promise."

"What do you mean?"

"Your reputation will rise significantly for recovering the money for each Trading Company. If you also help those in need, you'll take another step closer to the position of successor."

Geum Arin was at a loss for words for a moment.

"Even I, the person directly involved, hadn't thought of that."

Then, an unexpected answer came from Geom Mugeuk.

"That's why I think you're worthy of becoming the successor."

"Huh?"

"Because that ambition of yours is still pure."

Geum Arin looked at Geom Mugeuk for a moment before revealing her honest feelings.

"That ambition will soon be tainted."

"If your connection with me continues, at least it won't be tainted."

"Why are you so sure?"

"Because I'm going to introduce you to my friends. I have some friends who are quite pure for their positions. If you hang out with them, you'll start to think, 'Those people are pure, so why shouldn't I be?'"

For their positions? Who on earth is he talking about?

Geom Mugeuk had been an extraordinary person from the moment she first saw him, but the more she got to know him, the more she felt how mysterious he was.

"You hired me for a high price, so I should at least do this much for you."

Despite having done something he could have bragged about all day, Geom Mugeuk left the place right away.

Geum Arin looked down at the envelopes Geom Mugeuk had given her and muttered to herself.

"I thought so too."

Now, she had a different thought.

Perhaps she had hired him for far too cheap.

I placed two envelopes on the table.

"I'll split the money earned from this job equally as well."

Father looked at me after checking the amount of money in the envelope. He was surprised by the larger-than-expected sum.

"He had amassed quite a fortune. There was originally more, but I set some aside to be used for those who have suffered until now."

Hwi said cautiously.

"The money I received before is more than enough for me."

Of course, I had expected Hwi to react this way.

"If you keep it, you'll surely find a use for it later."

"No, I don't need it. Please give it to the Cult Leader."

I persuaded him as he still looked troubled.

"You need to prepare for when you're older and your sword arm isn't as strong. You can travel, too. You've been a bodyguard your whole life, so then you can hire a bodyguard of your own. A really expensive one, at that."

I could tell from Hwi's expression that this was something he had never once considered in his entire life.

Father gave me a look that said, 'You're being cheeky,' before speaking to Hwi.

"Take it."

"Yes, Cult Leader."

Hwi also took the envelope.

"Then I will accept it gratefully. I will use this money for my juniors."

He meant he would use it for the junior bodyguards of the Heavenly Demon Hall.

"No! This is your retirement fund, mister!"

At that, Hwi smiled faintly and asked me.

"Young Cult Leader, you're not going to use that money on yourself either, are you?"

Hwi knew. He knew that I would also invest all the money I earned this time into the Hidden Moon and the Ghost Shadow Squad.

"Well, I'm still young, aren't I? Preparing for old age is…"

"Something you do from a young age."

Seeing Hwi say something like that made me feel good.

You all lived as rigidly as ancient iron in your past lives, so in this life, please live softly and joyfully.

Just then, my father asked me abruptly.

"Are you okay?"

His words struck me right in the heart. Father had asked the same thing last time. He was asking if my heart was okay, even after staining my hands with so much blood.

It seemed that even though I had washed up and changed my clothes, I hadn't been able to completely erase the scent of blood clinging to me.

I took a moment to examine my own heart, my own feelings.

"I think I'm okay."

Father probably doesn't know. He doesn't know how much strength his simple question gives me. And at this moment, I felt that the important thing wasn't the answer of whether I was okay or not.

"If things get hard later, I will be sure to tell you, Father."

Conveying this feeling, that his son relies on his father, was surely far more important.

"I'm pushing forward with this job trusting only in you, Father."

"What will you do if they find out we've come?"

I thought that wouldn't matter either way.

"Well, if things get tangled, you'll sort it out, Father. Didn't I tell you on the way here? We need to show them, those who plot and scheme from the shadows. Show them that you are here in this murim."

It wasn't simple flattery, but my sincere feelings.

That's why, on this first trip into the jianghu with my father, this was the message I would deliver to them.

"If you've got the guts, then come out and face us."